Almost unreal, yet real
by kuntakintae
Summary: Future Lucy died in the hands of the old Lucy, but what happened to her after that? Wrote this cuz i felt Future Lucy really was sad, losing her right arm and her friends and all. PLs R&R! A little romance i think. One-shot


**Now i'm not gonna say this is my best writing ever. I just wanted to write it for fun, and i didn't really put so much effort in the story, especially the ending. Still, i hope you guys can enjoy this, cuz i really pitied Future Lucy and wanted her to at least get some happiness back.**

**pls R&R!**

* * *

"O-ouch…" Lucy groaned, wincing as she sat up slowly. Her head felt like it was just hit by a train, and her chest felt like something had just stabbed through it. Suddenly, her migraine got worst, causing her to place her hand on her head, as though it would lessen the pain. Another wave of pain struck her, now causing both her head and stomach to feel worse. She placed her other hand on her stomach.

'_Wait…what?' _She stared at her hands. _Hands._ She…she had both hands…

Her eyes started to tear up. She…she had _both_ her hands…was it just a dream? She slowly turned her hands to see the back of her right hand. The feeling of having her right hand was so…alien to her. Has it already been so long since a dragon had ripped off her arm?

The tears only started to flow when she saw the pink fairy tail mark on her right arm. It was there. _It was still there! _Even though she had already lost her right arm once, by some weird phenomenon, she had gotten her arm back; with one of the things she treasured the most.

She hugged her right hand to her heart, enjoying the feeling of having her right arm again, and also the knowledge that she had her mark back. She smiled widely and began thanking whatever God there was out there for giving back her arm. _'Why do I have my arm back? _She frowned as she tried to recall what had happened just before she blacked out.

Her eyes widened in shock and realization. "I…died." She muttered in disbelief. She had protected her past self from Rogue's sword…and then…she had said her last words to Natsu…

"I shouldn't have said that…" She whispered. It would only aggravate Natsu, and make him blame himself for not protecting her. More tears flowed as the memory of Natsu made her think her time, when everyone that she loved, when _Natsu _was dead. It reminded her of the loss she had, and the possibility that she may never be able to see their faces again.

After ten minutes of sobbing and reminiscing, she finally decided to find out where she was. She had been so shocked about her hand and depressed about Fairy Tail, she hadn't noticed that she was in the middle of a park. She was currently sitting on a patch of grass, in a park. She was surprised to see the sun shining brightly down on her. There was a gentle breeze that blew across the park without stopping, causing the grass beneath her and the leaves on the tress to rustle constantly. Flowers dotted the landscape, pavements twisted and turned, leading to different parts of the park. There were so many, Lucy couldn't even count exactly how many there were. The landscape seemed to go on forever, as though the park was never-ending. "Where am I?" She asked aloud, but of course, no answer came back. It was strange, not to see any other humans around the park, but in no way could she describe it as quiet or empty. There were some birds flying overhead and some birds resting on the branches of the trees, chirping to each other in their own unknown language. She could see a few families of cats and dogs all around. There was also a large river where she could see lots of fishes swimming inside. To say she was shocked would be an understatement when she saw dolphins jumping around in the river. There was even a waterfall there, producing the sound of water crashing against water. Lucy winced as she stood up, the pain in her chest and her head throbbing, but she ignored it. She just _had_ to explore the place. She frowned as she slowly stood up. "Why do I feel as though I had just ran a thousand kilometers?"She groaned as she finally got on both her feet. Her legs, however, were shaking with effort. She felt as though she could fall any moment. Mustering all her current strength, she slowly lifted her foot up, and took a step. And fell down on all fours. She gasped as her hands and knees struck the ground, the fall causing them to hurt. "Ouch ouch ouch…" She repeated over and over again as she sat back down on her butt and nursed her hands and knees. Her whole body was quivering like a leaf. Why were her legs so…weak? Why was she panting as though she had just completed a marathon? _What the hell was wrong with her?_ "This is bad…why am I so weak? Why…?" She whispered as she stared at her shivering hands and legs. She felt exactly like the time she had been beaten up by Gajeel. Her body was now aching all over, and felt completely out of strength. Tears started to form again. Was she really fated to suffer all the time, even in the afterlife? Wasn't it enough already that she had to feel the guilt of not helping her guild when they were fighting the dragons? Wasn't it enough for her to feel the despair of losing every single one of her nakama? Wasn't it enough that she had lost her arm, and had gone through the pain of losing it and also losing one of her most treasured things, her Fairy Tail mark? _Wasn't it enough?_ And now she's stuck in the middle of nowhere, without a single soul in sight to help her walk, and without the strength to move anywhere at all. She was all alone, and she was feeling lonely. So, so lonely. There was no one, no one at all. In the past, she would always have someone there to help her, someone there to help her up whenever she fell, someone there to support her if she was unable to walk. Tears started to flow when she thought back to all those times, and found out that that _someone_, most of the time, had been her most precious, most kind, most hot-headed nakama, Natsu Dragneel. And in that very moment, she wished that she hadn't died, that she would still be at Natsu's side, and somehow someone had stopped the sword from hitting any of them at all. She had told him that she wanted to go on more adventures with him…that was still true. "It wasn't enough…Natsu…everything we went through…it wasn't enough…" She sobbed as she hugged her knees to her chest. All those times she had spent with him…it wasn't enough. She only realized that when she found out that all her friends were dead, that _he_ was dead. "Natsu…Natsu…" She kept chanting as she sobbed. Slowly, her vision blacked out, and she fell asleep. When she woke up, it was nighttime. There weren't any birds chirping anymore, most probably asleep. Dogs and cats had disappeared, going back to their hidden homes to sleep. Only crickets and other insects could be heard, including the waterfall and the rustling of the leaves. The breeze hadn't changed in the least bit. Lucy opened her eyes, hoping to see someone there, but of course, no one was there. The pains all over her body had lessened considerably, though her head and chest were still throbbing. Still, it was much better than it was several hours ago. Lucy didn't know exactly how long she had slept. There weren't any clocks anyway. "Damnit…" Lucy cursed as she once again tried to walk. She got to her second step, and fell again. Even though she knew what was coming, she had no choice but to land on all her fours again. She sighed in relief. Even though it was very minimal, there was improvement. It meant that she was able to regain strength, which meant that she would be able to walk properly in maybe a few days, weeks, even months or years. She didn't really care. She was dead anyway, time did not affect her aging, though it did affect her mentality. Although the sun had set, the park was still lit up brightly by luminous glows. Lucy looked up, her eyes widening in amazement when she saw the night sky. It was dotted with countless twinkling stars, more then even when she was stargazing on one of the highest mountains in Magnolia. And there was the full moon, bigger than the rest shining brightly. The sight was beautiful. With the rustling of the leaves and the gentle breeze kissing her face, it made the experience much more livelier. "If only there everyone is here…if only Natsu…I would already say this is heaven…" She whispered. She mentally berated herself at being so weak as tears flowed once again. Why was she such a hapless woman now, crying over the slightest remembrance? She knew why, but that didn't mean she liked it. "Somebody…Anybody…" She muttered, the loneliness seeping into her soul, followed closely by despair. Why…even in the afterlife…couldn't she meet anyone at all? It had already been a few hours…if there had been anyone at all… Suddenly, she heard footsteps, approaching her. Her head snapped up, staring at the direction where the sound was coming from. There was a shadow…a figure approaching her. The shape of the figure told her that it was definitely a human. To be specific, it was a boy. Lucy's eyes widened in recognition as she stared the figure that was approaching her. It couldn't be…is it really him? That spiky hair…those muscular arms…the coat he always wore…that scarf… Tears started to flow even faster as the figure finally stopped in front of her. The moonlight shining on his body, making him look like an angel without wings. She sobbed even harder as she saw the feral grin she loved so much, the mischievous and playful eyes that she always loved to look at, the face that always brightened up her day. "N..na-natsu…" She chocked out his name, stretching her shaky hands towards Natsu, reaching for his baggy white pants that he always wore. It was too good to be true. It must be a dream. There was no way Natsu could be here…and yet, she couldn't give up that tiny spark of hope that had appeared in her when she saw him. She just had to confirm whether it was a dream or not. Even though every part of her brain was telling her not to hope, not to test it out as when she finds out it's just a dream, it would make her suffer even more, her heart kept telling her to keep on stretching, to feel, to touch, to submit to the feeling of hope and confirm that it was not a dream. Slowly, ever so slowly, Lucy reached out towards him. Ten centimeters, five centimeters, two centimeters… She finally broke down completely when she felt substance, when she felt the cloth of the pants that _he _always wore, when she knew that he was no dream. _He was really there._ She couldn't hold back anymore. Suddenly gaining energy from God-knows-where, she jumped straight into his chest, hugging him tightly, feeling his muscled chest along with his hot skin, and cried into his chest. "Natsu…Natsu…Natsu…" She screamed over and over again, voice muffled due to her face in his chest. Her tears flowed from her eyes onto his chest as she cried in joy and relief. She felt a pair of strong arms embrace her, hugging her even closer to him, and cried even harder. That very action proved that he was real, that he was there. "Shh…" He whispered, his voice like an angel's voice to her ears. She had thought she would never hear his voice again. She had thought she would never be able to spend time with him again…and yet, here he was, with her, embracing her and comforting her. His hand started to stroke her hair as he hugged her, reassuring and comforting. His body heat seeped into hers, warming her up. She hadn't even realized how cold she had felt until she was in his embrace. Her body shook violently. After ten minutes of sobbing and crying and generally making a big mess out of herself, Lucy finally calmed down enough to speak properly. She slowly extracted herself from their embrace and looked up at him. His face was still the same as ever. Nothing had changed. He should be dead, and yet… "Why…how are you here?" Lucy asked, her voice quivering. Natsu grinned widely. "What, not happy to see me?" he asked teasingly, causing me to hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Of course I'm happy! Its just…where are we, why are we here…why are you here?" Lucy asked quietly. Natsu sighed and placed a hand on Lucy's head, causing her to look up at him. Natsu couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable she looked. "Well, to answer your first question…I have no idea where we are!" He announced with a wide grin, causing Lucy to hit him on the head. "Baka! Why don't you know where we are?!" She asked, glaring at Natsu as he rubbed his head. "Luce, don't hit me so hard will ya? Sheesh, how the heck do you have so much strength in your arms and yet you're unable to walk properly?" Natsu complained. Lucy couldn't help but smile at what they were doing- it was nostalgic. "Well, as for the rest…I really don't know why either." He announced, this time backing away a few steps, afraid that Lucy would give him another whack. Lucy glared at him for two seconds, and sighed and face-palmed. "I should have never expected you to know anything at all…" She muttered irritatingly, momentarily totally forgetting about why she had been crying.. Natsu chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry…" He apologized. Lucy sighed and shook her head. "My fault for expecting too much from you, not yours." "Hey!" Lucy laughed as Natsu gave her a playful glare. A few minutes later, they were seated down on the grass comfortably, their shoulders touching as they stared at the stars above. "Natsu," Lucy called out. There was no reply, but she knew Natsu was listening. "Can you tell me…what happened?" She asked in a soft voice, almost regretting that she ever started the conversation. Natsu suddenly stiffened, which caused Lucy to really regret her decision. But, just as sudden as he had stiffened, he relaxed. She heard him sigh, and she could detect the sadness and pain, as well as the weariness in his voice. "It was…quite a terrifying experience. As you know, Wendy, Happy and I were also captured…so we could only get to see the outside when a dragon's claw tore off the entire ceiling. It was then we could see what was happening outside." Natsu paused, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Lucy placed her head on his shoulder. She knew that it was not pleasant to be recounting such horrible experiences. To her utmost surprise, natsu placed an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She blushed immediately, her mind telling her that that was usually what couples would do. "The whole places were littered with people, mages and normal people alike. Everything that you can find in a war was lying all over the place. Spikes, bodies, fire, rock, poison…everything. I could see lights in the sky as the mages battled the dragons with all their might as the dragons roared in anger and flew everywhere, slashing and blowing whatever element they used at mages. Even though there were still quite a few mages left…it was obvious that the mages was losing." "Wendy and I immediately got out of the cell. We _were_ dragon slayers, after all. We fought tooth and nail and brought down at least fifty of the dragons. Even though the dragons were many, they were not as strong as Igneel or Grandine. We fought and fought, killing dragons that we could have considered our own brethren. It was…hard, but we had to, for our nakama." "After what seemed like a month of fighting, we spotted Fairy Tail. They were all together, and most of them were still alive and fighting. They all looked battered up, but you know us," Natsu said with a large grin as he talked about it. "We, Fairy Tail, will never give up. Gajeel was still standing and cutting down as many dragons as he could. We immediately joined them. After that, well…we just fought and fought. But, no matter how much we fought, there seemed to be an endless amount of dragons." Natsu shut his eyes tight as he recalled the fight. Lucy grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. It was ironic, really. "One by one…mages beside us fell, Alzack…Bisca…Macao…Droy…Jet…they kept on falling until finally," Natsu said with a downcast look. "The only people left were Makarov, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Luxus, Mirajene, Gray, Juvia and me. We were all crying in despair, but we fought on." Natsu was breathing a little too quickly by now. "A dragon…came from behind and slashed Gajeel's side. The wound was not that serious as Gajeel had tried to dodge, but it was enough to distract the others. Another dragon flew faster then the rest and went for Wendy, whom had not noticed it yet. The others saw it, but were too slow to help. To save her life, I jumped behind her and took the hit," Natsu winced, his hand unconsciously moving to just below his left chest. Lucy realized that that was also where the sword pierced her. After that, well, the pain was excruciating. My body felt weaker and weaker by the second, and my vision slowly blacked out. The last thing I saw was Wendy screaming and crying as she tried to heal me, her tears flowing down her cheeks and onto me." Natsu closed his eyes and shuddered. Lucy, for the fourth time since she had arrived, had tears in her eyes. They had suffered to much more than her…at least she had not been forced to watch her nakama fall right before her eyes… "Natsu…" Natsu took a deep breath, and gave her a big smile. "I'm fine now. Seeing you has made me feel a whole lot better." Lucy turned beet red at that comment. "W-what are you talking about? We still need to find the rest of Fairy Tail!" Lucy squeaked. Natsu laughed loudly at her reaction. "Yea yea, but I was serious," Natsu said. Lucy looked at him curiously. "Seeing you really makes me feel a hell lot better!" Lucy turned red again and began blabbering out nonsense, which made Natsu grin. "Seriously…" Natsu said as he hugged Lucy tighter. "You never change, do you?" Natsu said. Lucy glared at him and pouted. "Shut up." She muttered. "Make me, weirdo." "I am not a weirdo!" "Yes you are." "Am not!" "Denial is the second sign of madness, Lucy." "I haven't even gone through the first, stop acting wise!" After about two hours of insults being thrown everywhere and pointless arguments, Lucy finally yawned. "I'm getting sleepy…"Lucy said. Natsu glanced down at her. "Wanna lie down?" He asked. Lucy nodded as she yawned again, causing Natsu to chuckle. He then laid himself down onto the grassy floor, pulling Lucy with him. Lucy didn't resist, and when they were both on the ground, she placed her head on Natsu's chest, smiling as she felt the warm skin heating up her cheek. "I still can't believe this is real, y'know?" Lucy said softly, almost afraid that Natsu would disappear once she said those words. He didn't, though. "Well, it is. Don't worry," Natsu whispered back. "I will never leave you alone. It's a promise." Lucy looked up at him in surprise. She then smiled softly and laid her head back down onto his chest. "It's a pretty big promise…you sure you can keep it?" "I'd do whatever it takes." Lucy's smile got wider at that statement. "Good…" Lucy said as she slowly lulled into sleep. Natsu grinned his usual feral grin at her last words. He lifted his head up and gave Lucy a peck on the back of her head, closing his eyes as he too was lulled back into slumber.


End file.
